thesharpfamily

The Sharp Family

From New Orleans to the Great Salt Lake Valley

June 1967 for the Adam Sharp Family Association Reunion

Howard Sharp Bennion, Association President

Research Document by LeGrande G. Sharp

Introduction

Attempting to follow the path of a migrating group of people is a rather difficult, albeit, absorbing task; especially when the people left no written record, and the undertaking is begun over a hundred years after their journey ended.

The peculiar difficulties of the job are further compounded by the facts that the dates which we do have, do not always jibe; stories passed down by different people do not coincide as to dates or even content matter, and the fact that no matter what kind of a history is finally worked out, no matter how logical it may seem to the narrator, someone is sure to stand up and dispute a part, or all of the subject matter, on the basis of certain records which he may possess. If this latter situation does arise, it will be all to the good, because the main idea of any family record such as this one is two-fold:

1. To present the story as the writer has been able to piece it together.
2. To bring out statements which can be challenged and corrected by anyone having documentary proof to the contrary.

It is my firm belief that somewhere, there is a document or record, or several parts and sections which may be pieced together, and which will give us a clearer picture of what happened to “Clackmannanshire John” and his family from the time they landed in New Orleans, April 2, 1849, until the end of their first year in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, August 28, 1851.

In this period of time, we did have exactly six specific dates and places from which to work, plus a few incidents which have been handed down by word of mouth, and which sometimes varied considerably by virtue of the re-telling. The six specific dates [with later findings] are as follows:

1. The arrival of the Sharps in New Orleans. Sharps were first thought to have sailed on the Ship Zetland and landed at New Orleans on April 2, 1849. This information was found to be incorrect—it was April 3, 1849, and it was the Condies who sailed on that ship. [1]
   1. Sharps sailed on the ship Erin’s Queen from Liverpool, England on Thursday, September 7, 1848. [2]
   2. Sharps landed at New Orleans on October 28, 1848.
   3. Sharps arrived at St. Louis on November 6, 1848.
2. The death of Mary Hunter Sharp: In June 1849, in St. Louis, of cholera. Source: The Journal of Thomas Condie and Helen Sharp Condie.
3. Marriage of Janet Condie and Joseph Sharp on August 28, 1849, in St. Louis. Source: Family Genealogy and History by Gibson A. Condie [b 1866, son of Thomas Condie (1842) and Helen Swann].
   1. Add possible date of departure from St. Louis [on Sharp pioneer journey], April 22, 1850. [Research trail, findings and calculations listed below.]
4. Birth of John “C” Sharp, May 28, 1850, Marysvale, Kansas – Research showed the correct information to be: Marysville, Nebraska Territory, now in Marshall County, Kansas. [Parents are Joseph and his 1^st wife, Janet Condie Sharp.]
5. Birth of John “A” Sharp, June 27, 1850 in Julesburg, Colorado—Correct spelling and state were at that time, Julesburgh, Nebraska Territory. Now, modern maps call it Julesburg, county of Sedgwick, state of Colorado. [Parents are Adam and Janet Cook Sharp, Joseph’s older brother and his wife.]
6. Entrance into the Salt Lake Valley – Sharp Family arrived on August 28, 1850.

In the linking together of these dates and places, and in the seeking of additional proof of them, I was very fortunate in turning up confirmation of two; undeniable proof that another one was incorrect; have been able to correct this data and add two new ones in connection with it; have added another probable date, plus opening a whole new addition which means that part of our family history will have to be re-written.

1) The Arrival of the Sharps in New Orleans

We might as well begin our narrative with the first of our six names and dates, and quote from Jenson’s Church Chronology, Page 36:

“Monday, January 29, 1849: The ship Zetland sailed from Liverpool, England, with 358 Saints, bound for G.S.L. Valley, under the presidency of Orson Spencer. It arrived at New Orleans, April 2^nd, and the emigrants arrived at Kanesville, Iowa, May 17^th, having suffered much from cholera while passing up the Missouri River.”

Through the efforts of my brother, Vernon and his wife Fawn, I was recently able to gain possession of a copy of a small journal entitled, “Family Genealogy and History” by Gibson A. Condie [b, 1866, son of Thomas and Helen Swann Condie, see above]. [3] This proved to be most interesting as the Condies were also converts from Clackmannan at the same time as the Sharps, and as our families have inter-married. Reading through it, I was very interested to learn many new and curious facts concerning the voyage of the Zetland which had commenced January 29^th, 1849. I followed with interest, their journey up the Mississippi River to Saint Louis and then I read this section:

“About seven miles out of St. Louis, were coal mines…called Grovi Diggings. In the early part of April 1849, the family located here, and found many old friends from Clackmannan who had come the previous year; the Sharps, Fifes, Wilsons and others.”

Obviously, Gibson Condie… [seemed to have] erred in his account, but as everything else seemed to be in order, this did not seem to be too logical an assumption on my part, and so I went to the records for proof. Tracing down the port records for the City of New Orleans of that time was not too difficult; finding the arrival date of the Zetland was also not too difficult. (It was April 3^rd, not April 2^nd.) Nor, was it too difficult to obtain and check over the passenger list—what was difficult to believe was the fact that the Sharps did not come over on the Zetland, or at least not at that time.

A quick check showed that the Zetland had not made that same voyage the year previous, so now the first of our six dates had been proven to be wrong, as had also the name of the vessel which the Sharps had come on. Praying that at least we might have the right ports, it was merely a matter of working through the passenger lists of the ships from Liverpool to New Orleans, previous to April 3^rd, 1849.

In working up this report, I have come to admire and deeply respect these ancestors of ours, and so when their names suddenly appeared on the screen before me, I do not mind admitting that I was deeply moved. There they were:

· The finding of this list has occurred too recently for me to check out all of the names; particularly, who is Mary? [Unknown as yet.] Where are the older sisters? ]See next statement.]

· Here also, are found the Wilsons, the Pattersons, and others [found to be relations of the older Sharp children by marriage.] [5]

· The ship is the Erin’s Queen, which arrived in New Orleans on October 28^th, 1848.

In Jensen’s Church Chronology, we read,

“September, Thurs 7 – The ship, Erin’s Queen, sailed from Liverpool, England, with 232 Saints, under the direction of Simeon Carter, bound for St. Louis, where the emigrants arrived November 6^th. Most of them remained there during the winter.”

So now, we must discard the sailing date of January 29, 1849 for September 7^th 1848; the name of the ship from the Zetland to the Erin’s Queen; the date of arrival from April 3, 1849 to October 28, 1848; and finally, add an entirely new date to our family’s history—their arrival in St. Louis on Monday, the sixth day of November, 1848.

Because of the short period of time between their landing in New Orleans and their arrival in St. Louis, they could not have spent much time in New Orleans, which at that time was a most vital and interesting place. Travelers of this date have left pictures of the animation of the river trade—more congested in those days of river boats and steamers and ocean-sailing craft than today; of the institution of slavery, the quadroon balls, the medley of the Latin tongues, the disorder and carousals of the river-men and adventurers that filled the city. Altogether, there was much of the wilderness of a frontier town, and a seemingly boundless promise of prosperity.

Short as their stay appears to have been, something seems to have happened, for we read in the book, Sketches of the Intermountain States, “Joseph Sharp seems to have begun to grow rich as soon as he landed in New Orleans with his elder brothers, John and Adam, for he is found to have been the owner of a freighting train with many teams before he started to cross the plains.”

I must admit that here, I cannot even speculate as to what happened in New Orleans, and if anyone can produce even a suggestion, I, for one, would be most grateful.

2) The Death of Mary Hunter Sharp

We now move on to the second of our original six dates and places, that of the death of Mary Hunter Sharp, wife of John and the mother of John, Adam, and Joseph.

Situated on the west bank of the Mississippi River, about 20 miles below its confluence with the Missouri, 200 miles above the influx of the Ohio and 1270 miles above the Gulf of Mexico, St. Louis is in a commanding central position in the great drainage area of the Mississippi basin, the richest portion of the continent. In 1850, it was the seventh largest city in the United States, with a population of 77,860, and at this time, leading its avowed rival of that time, Chicago, in several respects.

Our family histories place our group in this city with indications that for a time at least, they were at the branch at Gravois. This was at that time located just outside of the city, but it is now part of St. Louis. Spelled Gravois, it usually appears on our family group sheets as “Gravis” or “Gravis Diggings”, and I have even seen one where it was called “Grave Diggins”. [Also, Grovi Diggins.]

Whitney’s History of Utah referring to the life of Nathaniel Felt states, in part,

“Included in the St. Louis Conference were the branches of Alton and Gravois. There were gathered the coal miners, sturdy, reliable men such as John Sharp, Adam Sharp, Adam Hunter, and others.” It was here that the Condies found them when they arrived from Scotland in April of 1849.”

Our family records show, however, that it was in June of 1849 that Mary Hunter Sharp died of cholera in the city of St. Louis. This is a generally accepted date, and I see no reason to question it. Additional confirmation, however, comes from the journal of Thomas Condie and Helen Sharp Condie, who were the parents of Janet Condie, who married Joseph Sharp, in which it states, “Mary Hunter, wife of John Sharp, died in St. Louis in June of 1849.”

That cholera was ever present and flared up into plague proportions is indicated in the writings of Gibson Condie who now states, “During the summer (1849) cholera broke out—a real plague—many died. Then, a fire destroyed much property in St. Louis. This seemed to clarify the atmosphere and the disease cleared away. Fever and ague were prevalent.” [6]

The Encyclopedia Britannica confirms his account by stating in part, “Cholera broke out in 1849 and lasted until 1851, causing in three months in 1849 almost 4,000 deaths, or the death of a twentieth of all the inhabitants.” A great fire in 1849 burned along the levies and adjacent streets, destroying steamers, buildings and goods worth, by the estimate of the city assessor, more than $6 million.”

3) Marriage of Janet Condie and Joseph Sharp

We move on now to the third of our original six dates, and a happier one, for this is August 28^th, 1849, and in our records, it is the wedding date of Joseph Sharp, the youngest of the three Sharp brothers, to Janet Condie. Once again, we have no conflicting dates, or at least none that I am aware of, and again, confirmation comes from Gibson Condie, whose writing states, “August 28, 1849, Janet married Joseph Sharp.”

[In 1850, Janet’s family, the Condies, had been having severe health problems, with two of their small children dying during the cholera epidemic, and each of the parents came close to death, themselves--Thomas with cholera, and Helen would have a miscarriage on the way to Council Bluffs. Instead of journeying west with the Sharps, the Condie family decided to move to Council Bluffs with other Saints, where they bought a farm, regrouped and farmed for two years before they acquired the resources to journey to the Salt Lake Valley in 1852.] [7]

4) Birth of John “C” Sharp

I am afraid that I have nothing to offer until the next date and place comes up some time later, but this tells us quite a bit. It informs us of the birth of the first child to Joseph and Janet Condie Sharp.

In our records, we find that John “C” Sharp was born on May 28, 1850 at various places: the Kaw River, the Big Blue River, and at Marysvale, Kansas. The Kaw River was the sometime name given to the Kansas River, which in those days was spelled Kanzas, and into which river the Big Blue does flow about 50 miles from a town called Marysville, which must be the spot we are looking for…. [The Kansas River, after meeting the Big Blue River, then flows eastward, into the Missouri River at Kansas City. In those days, pioneers often followed big rivers. They were the best roads in those days.] To further confirm this [Marysville] site, there was recently found in the back of an old journal kept by John “C” Sharp, a penciled notation on an otherwise blank page in an unfilled section of the book, which states “was born – 28 May 1850 at Marysvill, Martian County on the Big Blue, Kansas.”

There is no conflict with the date and a little shifting of spellings and our records will be correct: “Marysville” for Marysvale or Marysvill; Marysville is located in “Marshall County” not Martian County, and if we wish to be absolutely correct, “Nebraska Territory” for the State of Kansas. [8]

The placing of Marysville offers us much to speculate with, for instance: It is my contention that the Sharps never got farther north than St. Louis, and I feel that this is confirmed by the fact that Marysville is on the Oregon Trail, and if they had gone farther north, their journey would have commenced on the northern Overland Trail. Where the Oregon Trail crosses the Big Blue River at Marysville, it is about one hundred miles south of the Overland Trail; also, the Oregon Trail is the logical one for travelers heading west from St. Louis.

This, then is the way I see our party traveling along the then-marked trails: Leaving St. Louis, they would travel westward along the south side of the Missouri River until they reached Marshall, Missouri [east of Kansas City on the west border of Missouri] which was the place they would pick up the Santa Fe Trail. This, they would follow to Westport Landing, which is now Kansas City, and the town where the Oregon Trail began. They would then travel on north and west [along the Kansas River] through Marysville, north and west, following the Blue River until they met the Overland Trail [and] Fort Kearney on the Platte River [west of Council Bluffs] about three hundred miles from Westport Landing; on up the Platte River for about one hundred and fifty miles until they reached the spot where the North and the South Platte join, and the trail swings slightly south into what is now Colorado. Here, we have the fifth of our six dates and places. [See below.]

[As for the Sharp babies’ birth places, one each in Marysville, Kansas and Julesburg, Colorado, both towns were originally located in Nebraska Territory. The present towns of Marysville and Julesburg are now very near the Nebraska southern border between each of those states. Also, the babies were probably born on the pioneer trail, but each using the town name to locate the most recognizable location near the trail.]

The Sharp Company's Possible Route to Salt Lake City

If anyone wishes to claim that the Sharps went by boat from St. Louis to St. Joseph and then began their land trek from that city, which was later to be the eastern starting point of the Pony Express, traveling straight west to Marysville, I certainly would not make an issue of it.

5) Birth of John “A” Sharp

At Julesburg, Colorado, on June 27^th, 1850, John “A” Sharp was born to Adam and Janet Cook Sharp. There seems to be no question as to the date, but to be absolutely correct in recording the place, we might mention that in those days, Julesburg was spelled with an “h”: Julesburgh, and also as was the case with Marysville, Julesburgh was in the Territory of Nebraska. [Modern-day maps now spell the town as Julesburg.] [9]

I have seen one group sheet where the birth place of John “A” Sharp was listed as South Platte, Nebraska. The South Platte River runs through part of Nebraska and through part of Colorado, but there is not now, nor has there ever been a town or city of that name--North Platte, Yes, but South Platte, No. In all probability, John “A” Sharp was born on the South Platte River, near Julesburgh, Nebraska Territory.

From the dates and places of the two births, we may draw a very interesting conclusion: Marysville, Kansas, and Julesburgh, Colorado, are about three hundred and twenty-five miles apart, as near as I can figure by using maps of the Oregon and Overland Trails, and the time consumed in covering this distance is the difference in time between the two birth dates, May 28^th and June 27^th, or 30 days. This means that the average distance covered per day would have been approximately eleven miles. Working backward from Marysville, Kansas, to St. Louis, a distance of approximately four hundred miles, we have traveling time of about thirty-six days, which in turn will give us a possible date of departure from St. Louis of April 22, 1850.

What of their adventures on the plains and crossing the mountains? I, for one, have no knowledge of event or story outside of the two dates and places mentioned. At one time, some records did exist of the trip across the plains, because on at least three occasions, Howard Bennion told me of having seen and handled them. It now appears that they have since been lost or destroyed.

In order to fill a small gap in this part of the trip, I am inserting a short account of what it was like on a portion of the trail as described by Orson Hyde. (See below.) Assuming that our party left Julesburgh on June 28^th and traveled about eleven miles a day, they would have arrived at the upper crossing of the Platte, a distance of about three hundred miles, on approximately July 30, 1850.

[Orson Hyde’s Account] – “Upper Crossing of the Platte, July 30, 1850:

“We crossed the Platte yesterday. Ferried over wagons and swam our horses, leaving Captain Milo Andrus and company on the bank’s crossing. All well…

“Grass is scarce though the rains through the Black Hills have been constant and powerful. But, how the vast multitudes of cattle and horses are to get through, God only knows. There will be no lack of water, but grass is eaten up, root and branch; and in many cases, the animals have eaten out the wild sage.

“August 1, at Independence Rock on the Sweetwater. All well.

“We have just passed through the ‘valley and shadow of death’, a country of about fifty miles in extent, where the waters are deeply impregnated with nitre, saleratus, sulphur, etc. There is little or no grass at all through this region, but is mostly a sandy desert. The carcasses of cattle and horses lying along the roadside are very numerous, having perished through fatigue, hunger, and through drinking poisonous waters.

“This country lies between the upper crossing of the Platte and the Sweetwater River, on the banks of which we are now comfortably encamped… We are now beginning to overtake the California and Oregon emigration. They have suffered much in the loss of teams and animals; and oh! The sacrifice of wagons, clothing, fire arms, beds, bedding, buffalo skins, trunks, chests, wretchedness and woe, and yet thousands and tens of thousands follow on the way with the hope of securing the wealth of the world…

“There are about five hundred new graves on the south side of the Platte and but three deaths are reported at Laramie as having occurred on the North side… If wood were as plentiful as tools, wagon tires, and iron in general on the road, we could have our hot dodger, coffee, and fried or boiled bacon whenever we pleased.”

At this time, the Mormons usually traveled the north side of the Platte for two main reasons: 1) they could avoid most of the California-Oregon bound traffic, thus reducing the problem of finding food for their animals and 2) also reducing contact with the people themselves, who were stricken with cholera.

Picking up our travelers at Julesburgh, we again swing north and west along the North Platte River, up into what is now Wyoming, then south to the Crossings of the Sweetwater [and Willow Springs], where a few years later, Joseph Sharp, proud new father of John “C” Sharp, was to lose his life, then on south and west to Fort Bridger, down Echo Canyon, on through Emigration Canyon, and finally to enter the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.

6) Entrance into the Salt Lake Valley

From various sources, we have the arrival dates … [which follow. One scenario is that they could have been traveling at different speeds]:

· Joseph Sharp arrived August 28^th. [Our line.]

· John Sharp arrived September 1^st.

· Adam Sharp arrived December 18^th.

[… LeGrande Sharp writes that the Sharps were all in the same company, so then all of them must have arrived at the same time. However, other pioneer company accounts in this and other years, including the Condie account in 1852, often stated different arrival dates for different parts of the company. Because of many travelers and animals traveling on the plains, they traveled at different intervals and speeds in order to let the grass grow, for sufficient grass to feed the cattle. There were probably other reasons also, like wagon repairs, births and even deaths, which caused delays.]

In the Deseret News (then a weekly publication in its fourth month) of Saturday, August 31^st, 1850, we read:

“Messrs. Holladay and Warner’s train arrived on Wednesday. See their advertisement in this paper. A few families of Saints accompanied this train.”

We see from this that there was a wagon train which entered the valley on Wednesday, August 28^th, 1850, and that a few families of Saints came with it.

Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah has this to say, “The John Sharp Company, an independent one, arrived in the Valley, August 28^th, 1850.”

Jensen, in his LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 1, page 677, when speaking of Bishop John Sharp, refers to his coming in an independent company and states, in part, “The date of his arrival, August 28, 1850, makes John Sharp one of the earliest settlers of Utah.” And, I might add the same is true of Adam and Joseph.

My father, James P. Sharp, has told me many times, and has recorded in a book he has written called, History of the Sharp Family, that his father, John “C” Sharp, the one who was born at Marysville, Kansas, used to hold an annual party on August 28^th to celebrate the arrival of the Sharp families in the Valley.

As far as I am concerned, with the information we have at the present time, August 28^th, 1850, is the date the Sharps came to the Valley.

Upon their arrival, they went to Red Butte Canyon and made camp. Why they did not join the Saints in the city at that time, I cannot explain. One story has it that some members of the family had not been thoroughly converted and so were undecided as to whether to stay or go on to California and look for gold. Another story says there had been some sort of a misunderstanding between the Sharp people and some of the Church officials back in St. Louis.

Whatever their reasons, they were still in Red Butte Canyon when snow came early that year, and so the Sharps dug into the hillside, used wagon boxes for roofs, walled up the front with stones, and waited the winter out.

By the time spring arrived, their knowledge of quarrying and working with stone had stood them in good stead, and shortly the Sharp brothers were given a contract by Brigham Young for the stone for the Tabernacle, the Tithing House, and the old Council House where the Deseret News Building now stands, and later, of course, they opened the Cottonwood quarries and supplied the granite for the Temple—but, that is another chapter.

When they decided to stay that first winter, the die was cast, the Sharp Brothers stayed on and played a great part in building the Intermountain west.

When I first took this assignment and could only turn up at that time six dates and places, I could see no reason to waste much time trying to develop the subject, but as I got into reading and research, I became more and more absorbed with the family, until now, I look upon this emigrant group, not as a list of names, but as friends of mine with whom I am proud to be associated. They faced and overcame problems and hardships that I would not like to have to stand up to. As Whitney stated, “They were sturdy and reliable.” When another century has passed, may the same be said of us.

(signed) LeGrande G. Sharp

1939 Laird Drive

Salt Lake City, Utah

June 2, 1967

Addendum 1 – The 1969 Search for the Sharp Winter Camp of 1850

Because of the insistence by Howard Bennion that there surely must be some remaining evidence to pin-point the exact location of that first winter camp in Red Butte Canyon, and that I (for some reason best known to him) was the logical one to find it, I started out to do just that.

The land at that time was part of Fort Douglas, and every effort I made to gain permission to enter the area met with failure. This tract was later given to the University of Utah; and from them, I received the go-ahead in March of 1969.

The winter camp was located in either the first or second gully upon entering the canyon and on the north side; but a detailed search of the area revealed nothing. Observation of the location and a check of photographs taken from above and across the canyon also revealed no trace.

I did learn that during the WPA days of President Roosevelt, a new and wider road had been built along the north side of the stream, and it is my conclusion that this led to the final eradication of any evidence of the camp that may have remained.

The sego lilies blossomed as they did that spring of 1851, and the harsh red sandstone ledges still protrude from the hills across the canyon to the south; a soft, green blanket of spring covered the canyon walls, even as it did over a hundred years ago, and in this spot, all is today, much the same as it was then. But of the winter camp of the Sharp families, there now remains no single trace. [LeGrande Sharp, 1969.]

Addendum 2 - Excerpts from Gibson A. Condie Journal (b 1866)

Note: Wording in this Gibson A. Condie (1866) journal is very similar to the larger journal of his uncle, Gibson Condie, born 1835, an actual participant on the journey, and he may have used his uncle’s journal as a source for his own account.

• Gibson Condie (1835) was son of Thomas Condie (1805) and his wife, Helen Sharp.
• Gibson A. Condie (1866) was grandson of Thomas Condie and Helen Sharp, through their son, Thomas Condie (1842).

“Soon after this, Grandfather [Thomas Condie] failed in business and became very desirous to gather to the body of the church in America. He went to Glasgow, and in a short time was joined by his family, composed of Grandmother [Helen Sharp], Janet, Gibson, Helen, Margaret, Thomas, and Mary [their children]. From there, they went by steamer to Liverpool, England, arriving there Christmas Day, December 25, 1848, after a cold, rough, unpleasant voyage…

“While there, waiting for the ship to be made to sail, Grandpa was cleaning a gun with some blue vitriol. When not looking, little Mary took the cup and drank the vitriol. Janet and Gibson were sent to find some Mormon Elders. They contacted Apostle Orson Pratt, President of the Mission, who sent two Elders…They administered to Mary, rebuked the poison and promised she should live. When the Elders removed their hands from Mary’s head, she began to vomit and the poison was cast upon the floor; so strong was it that it burned the floor. It took the thin membrane or skin off her tongue and throat. [10]

“When the ship “Zetland” was ready, more than 400 saints from England and Scotland went aboard. President Orson Pratt came and organized the company appointing Orson Spencer, President; and James Ure and Brother Mitchell, counselors.

“About January 29, 1849, the vessel was towed out to the open sea. About nine weeks, they arrived in New Orleans. Here, they were transferred to a steam boat to St. Louis.

“Among incidents of the voyage, I mention that 1) The first mate got drunk, neglected his duty, and the vessel came near being dashed on the rocks in the Irish Sea. 2) Next, the galley or fireplace on the deck caught fire, and it seemed the vessel was doomed to destruction. The Lord again preserved them. 3) Passing near Bermuda, a calm delayed them. The sailors fished and drew up a dolphin as big as a horse. They chopped it in pieces and gave the meat to the emigrants to cook. 4) While going up the Mississippi River, someone cut the chain and stole Grandpa’s watch. 5) At St. Louis, he started down the gang plank with a box of his possessions, and lost his balance and fell into the river. No one saw him. He saw a rope hanging on the side of the boat, and seizing hold of it, he pulled himself on deck.

“About seven miles out of St. Louis was a coal mine called Grovi Diggings. In the early part of April 1849, the family located here and found many old friends from Clackmannan who had come the previous year: the Sharps, Fifes, Wilsons and others. Good wages were being paid. Grandpa and Uncle worked there several months. Some things were very cheap; I have been told two cows were purchased for $11, pork a cent a pound, sugar five cents, whiskey twenty cents a gallon.

“During the summer, cholera broke out—a real plague—many died. Then, a fire destroyed much property in St. Louis. This seemed to clarify the atmosphere and the disease cleared away. Fever and ague was prevalent and attacked Grandpa. He thought he would die, and was very desirous of moving up the river to Council Bluffs…

“August 28, 1849, Janet married Joseph Sharp. Little Mary died. A son was born. They named him Robert. He also died.

“March 1850—They [the Condies] went by steamboat to St. Joseph, Missouri. From there, the journey was made with ox team, in bad weather and muddy roads. A very trying journey, indeed… Arriving at Kanesville, Grandpa bought a farm on Mosquito Creek, from Enos Curtis. There were some buildings on it. He bought a cow and a calf. The ground was hard, but with the hoe and spade, they began to plant corn. It was worth ten cents a bushel; the weather turned hot and dry, the price went up… Church History records the conditions very discouraging when Elder Orson Hyde, who came there, prophesied rain would be sent from the Lord. It came, much to the joy of many emigrants who were waiting to continue their westward journey. This started the grass to grow, which was so necessary for food for the animals crossing the plains.

“The corn ripened so it could be ground into meal. The family lived three miles from a mill; they had no ox team or wagon, so Grandpa, Gibson, Helen, Margaret and Thomas each carried a sack of corn to the mill.

“In 1852, they came with an ox team to Salt Lake, coming Sept 2, 1852. [11]

Bibliography

Deseret News – Reel Number One.

Genealogical Library (now called Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah).

Ship, Erin’s Queen – 26816, F, PT 31; 976.3, W3no

Ship, Zetland – 26816, F, PT 33; 976.3, W3no

Maps:

Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guide, Rand McNally and Company

Historical Map of the United States, Published by the National Geographic Society.

Horn’s Overland Guide to California, 1853, (Map published in connection with)

New International Atlas of the World, The Geographical Publishing Company

Pioneer Atlas of the American West, Rand McNally

Books and Publications:

Condie, Gibson (b 1835), History (by the son of Thomas and Helen Sharp Condie at age 13; about his family’s conversion to the Church and pioneer journey from Scotland to the Salt Lake Valley; over 300 pages)

Condie, Gibson A. (b 1866), Family Genealogy and History (by the grandson of Thomas and Helen Sharp Condie, who was not on their family’s pioneer journey to the Salt Lake Valley; small journal, wording very similar to the journal of Gibson Condie, 1835.)

Condie, Thomas (1805) and Helen Sharp, Journal and short history.

Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh edition

Jenson, Church Chronology

Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia

Larson, Gustive O., Prelude to the Kingdom

Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah

Sketches of Inter-Mountain States – Utah, Idaho, Nevada

Sharp, James F., History of the Sharp Family

Sharp, John “C”, 1871 Journal

Whitney, History of Utah

Computerized and edited slightly by Marjorie Barker Sorensen, July 2005

[Editing notes are in brackets.]

Submitted again and edited slightly by Ruth H. Barker, 2010

[Edits in black brackets.]

[1] Ship’s Log, Zetland

[2] Ship’s Log, Erin’s Queen

[3] Condie, Gibson A (b 1866), History

[4] Family Group Sheet or PAF

[5] Helen Sharp (1808) had md Adam Fife. Catherine Sharp (1812) had md John Wilson. John Sharp (1820) had md Jane Patterson. Agnes Sharp (1823) had md Robert Patterson. See PAF or Family Search.

[6] Gibson A. Condie (1866) History

[7] Gibson Condie (1835) History

[8] Funk and Wagnall Atlas, pages 79 and 90 - The map shows that Marysville, Kansas, near the Big Blue River, is now in the northeast tip of Kansas, in Marshall County. The Pony Express Highway, once a trail where speeding horses galloped to deliver the US mail, still runs through the town of Marysville, which is now modern Highway 36. The Pony Express Trail once ran between St. Joseph, Missouri and straight west to Sacramento, California, from 1860-1861, ten years after the Sharp family pioneers traveled through Marysville, Nebraska Territory. World Book Encyclopedia

[9] Funk & Wagnall Atlas, pages 70 and 90 – Julesburg is located on the South Platte River, where it dipped down into the northeast tip of Sedgwick County in the modern-day state of Colorado. The best view of both Marysville and Julesburg, imagining them to still be in Nebraska Territory, may be seen on page 90 of that atlas.

[10] This passage from Gibson A. Condie’s journal about little Mary and the poison being so strong that it burned the floor when she cast it up, is probably in the original Gibson Condie (1835) Journal, but it is abbreviated in our Excerpts copies of that journal and leaves some of the “burning” part out, yet uses similar wording. This account is well known in the family and is also told in the Thomas Condie history, and also in the history of Cecilia Sharp Barker by her son, Clarence Sharp Barker.

[11] Also, see Gibson Condie (1835) History